Nepal: Avalanche hits Mt. Gurja; 5 S-Koreans among 9 killed
What's the story
At least nine climbers, including five South Korean nationals, have been killed in an avalanche which devastated their camp on Nepal's Mount Gurja. The violent snowstorm buried the climbers at the base camp at an altitude of 3,500m near the south face of Mount Dhaulagiri in western Nepal yesterday evening, said Wangchu Sherpa, the Managing Director at Trekking Camp Nepal. Here's more.
Details
Heavy snowstorm and landslide buried the base camp
Five South Korean climbers, including team leader Kim Chang-ho, along with their Nepali support staff were killed in the incident. They had gone to scale the mountain from Gurja Village on October 7. A heavy snowstorm followed by a landslide buried the base camp at an altitude of 3,500m when the climbers were waiting for a fair weather to move towards higher camps.
Information
Identities of others killed were not immediately known
Kim was the first South Korean to summit 14 peaks above 8,000m without using supplemental oxygen. However, the identities of others killed weren't immediately known. A rescue helicopter was dispatched today morning. The Mount Gurja, with a 7,193m peak, is in Western Nepal.